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Contagious
Plot A medical exam of a nine year old girl who survived a car accident with her parents reveals that she was a victim of sexual abuse. Out of fear and desperation, she ends up blaming the wrong suspect, leading to a rash of false accusations against him by other girls. However the SVU finds out she was actually victimized by somebody much closer to the prime suspect. Synopsis A drunk driver causes a car accident with a family of three in Central Park. The family consists of Larry Purcell, his wife Sonya and daughter Holly, all of whom survive the crash. As a doctor tries to change Holly's clothes and replace them with a hospital gown, she immediatley panics, impulsivley and frantically kicking at the doctor, prompting him and others on his staff to suspect that she may've been a victim of sexual abuse, and to contact SVU. However with her parents unconscious and undergoing surgery, the hospital finds that they can't get permission to take a physical exam in order to determine whether or not she was assaulted. Detectives Benson and Stabler are called in by Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, and Casey Novak gives them court-ordered permission to carry out the exam. Hendrix still needs the presence of the police to document the progress of the examination of Holly, and though she prefers not to have any strange men in the room, Holly seems to take comfort in the presence of Dectective Stabler. As their worst fears are confirmed The SVU tries to find out who molested Holly. After revealing the abuse to her parents, they claim that her injury was due to a bicycling accident, and medical records confirm this, which rules them out as suspects. Despite their concerns over her psychological well-being, they agree to let Benson interview her, and eventually, she breaks down and finally admits she was molested, but refuses to reveal the culprit, because he threatened to shoot her and her family. To make matters worse she also reveals that he killed Laura Swift, a girl around Holly's age who is the subject of a widley publicized missing persons incident who hasn't been seen since she was in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. The detectives now realize that besides finding out who molested Holly, they also have to find Laura Swift, or her body. During another psychological exam, Dr. Hendrix gives her the opportunity to draw, and many are quite impressed with her artistic skills. Meanwhile, Benson and Stabler interview Mark and Julie Dobbins a couple who are friends of the Purcell family and have daughters of their own. While interviewing Holly's art teacher, Fin and Munch find that Holly deliberatley injured herself to get out of gym, and Stabler and Benson find that she has been injuring doing so for the past three weeks. They also meet a boy on Dobbin's lacrosse team named Kevin Wilcox, who reveals that Mark Dobbins is also a substitute gym teacher, which gives them a reason to suspect Dobbins. After much prodding, Holly tearfully claims that the man who victimized her was family friend, Mark Dobbins. Benson and Stabler arrest Dobbins in the middle of a football game. Later they interrogate him and find that his activities includes hosting sleepovers and a summer camp in The Poconos for girls, and teaching gym. Dobbins was among many who were interviewed, and when he reveals his assumption that Swift is dead, the detectives think they have further proof of his guilt. Stabler suggests that he molested both Holly, Laura, and her own daughters, and he finds the notion so repulsive that he demands a lawyer for any further questioning. News of the vicimization of Holly gets around as well as that of the missing girl, and other parents come forward, thus preventing him from making bail. All the girls tell the same story as Holly Purcell, which seems to give the detectives an open and shut case, however nothing they say reveals the whereabouts of Laura Swift or any other girl who's missing, nor does it soothe Holly's fears. When the news media gets word of the spree of molestations at the school Cragen tries to keep as much info from them as he can. During the search of the Dobbins' basement, Julie Dobbins pleads her husband's innocence, insisting that she was an eyewitness to the activities at the household, which Stabler misinterprets as an absurd sexual fetish, and chastizes her so severly, that it almost seems like he's ready to attack her. Realizing that he may be a danger to the public, Stabler tries to calm down. Benson suggests that he goes home to his family, but he's torn between his family troubles and helping Holly. On the way out though, Fin finds that Dobbins has a sealed arrest record from the Erie County District Attorney, which he explains, despite advice from his attorney not to do so. Due to some circumstantial evidence by a teenage prostitute and a "drunken cop," Dobbins was falsely labeled a sex offender, and revealed that he had to forge documents indicating he was allowed to work with children. Novak thinks she can use this to get a confession from him on the whereabouts of Swift, but he refuses to do so. Stabler tries to break himself away from the case in order to maintain his sanity, but Benson insists that he should help Holly prepare for Dobbins trial. But before even doing so, she breaks down again and reveals that Dobbins is completley innocent. When one of his other alleged victims reveals that her mother pressured her into accusing him of sexual abuse, Stabler rushes to get Novak to drop the charges and set him free. After his exhoneration hearing Larry Purcell reveals he and Sonya may've been responsible for inadvertently creating the persecution of Dobbins. Even with the presence of her parents, Holly is still afraid to reveal who molested her. Hendrix suggests that the family take her on vacation in an attempt to make her feel safe, but it doesn't lead to the whereabouts of Laura Swift. After reexamining Holly's artwork, Hendrix suddenly realizes that she made a grave error in her analysis. She notices that the uniform of the person that she supected was not a coache's athletic uniform, but that of a student, particularly, a lacrosse captain. Holly finally reveals that she was molested by Kevin Wilcox, who is arrested on the spot. During his interrogation, Stabler and Fin reveal that their evidence against him is solid, and Fin even threatens to spread the word throughout prison that he's a child molestor, unless he reveals the wherabouts of the girl he killed. After his confession, Fin joins other unseen officers to find the Laura's body in College Point. On his way home, Benson stalls him so she can direct him to his family who are throwing a birthday party for him at his desk. Unfortunatley the happiness of the moment is shattered, when the Dobbins couple reveal that their lives are ruined by the investigation, and are moving in with Julie's parents. Cast Main cast * Christopher Meloni as Detective Elliot Stabler * Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson * Richard Belzer as Detective John Munch * Diane Neal as A.D.A. Casey Novak * Ice-T as Detective Odafin Tutuola * B.D. Wong as Dr. George Huang (credit only) * Dann Florek as Captain Donald Cragen Guest cast * Mary Stuart Masterson as Dr. Rebecca Hendrix * David Lansbury as Larry Purcell * Jennette McCurdy as Holly Purcell * Pamela Stewart as Mrs. Purcell * Rebecca Lowman as Julie Dobbins * Peter Hermann as Trevor Langan * Daniel Hugh-Kelly as Mark Dobbins * Zach Gilford as Kevin Wilcox * Warren Kelley as ER Dr. Turk * Angela Robinson as Mrs. Wheeler * Laura Kai Chen as Dr. Sanada * Courtney Taylor Burness as Danielle Pellegrino * Mariah Fresse as Nicole Van Houten * Maggie Kiley as Terry Van Houten * Caitlin Muelder as Donna Pellegrino * David Lipman as Judge Arthur Cohen * Joselin Reyes as Paramedic Martinez * Joseph E. Murray as Paramedic Olson * Jo Twiss as Nurse Roehrich * Erin Broderick as Maureen Stabler * Patricia Cook as Elizabeth Stabler * Jeffrey Scaperrotta as Dickie Stabler * Allison Siko as Kathleen Stabler * Ryan Spevak as Teacher References Bellevue Hospital Center; Queens; Flushing Meadow Park; Pocono Mountains; Chestnut Academy; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Rikers Island; Erie County; College Point; Quotes *'John Munch' (to a tip caller): We don't need a psychic. You're that good, who's gonna win the Superbowl? *Holly Purcell is about to get an IV Holly Purcell: I wish my dad was here. Elliot Stabler: You'll see him in a while. What's your most favorite thing you like to do with your dad? I got twins your age, and we like to go to the beach together. Holly Purcell: My dad takes me to the beach, too. We build sand castles. I don't like needles. Elliot Stabler: Okay. Hold onto my hand. Now close your eyes and pretend that you're at the beach building sand castles with your dad. And if it hurts, you squeeze my hand really hard, okay? Holly Purcell: What do you do when something hurts? Elliot Stabler: I think of my kids. Background information and notes *'Goof': In the scene where the charges are dismissed against Mark Dobbins, the judge refers to Dobbins' lawyer as "Mr. Langdon", when he should have said "Mr. Langan." Category:SVU episodes